Hydrant.



0. L. HOWES.

HYDRANT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.28, 1911.

1,086,825, Patented Feb. 10, 191i W WQ COLUMBIA FLANOGRAPN COHWASHINGTON. DI:v

UNITED s'rarns PATENT onFIoE:

CLAUDE L. HOWES, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

HYDRANT.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CLAUDE L. Howns, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hydrants, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to hydrants, and the principal features thereof reside in a waste valve for the hydrant casing and means operated by the main valve for automatically opening and closing the waste valve. The said valve is provided for permitting the discharge of all water from the hydrant casing when the main valve is closed, and the operating mechanism opens the waste valve when the main valve is closed and closes the waste valve when the main valve is open. The operating mechanism is, however, so constructed as to permit the waste valve to close quickly under the influence of the water pressure when the main valve is but slightly removed from its seat, and independently of the operating mechanism which is positively actuated by the main valve.

The waste valve is mounted in a holder, and is engaged and moved by an actuator which is also mounted in the holder. The holder may be removed from the hydrant casing, and the waste valve and its operating mechanism are so constructed and arranged as to be removable without disturbing the main valve. The main valve may be left closed when the waste valve and operating mechanism are detached, thus dispensing with a special gate for cutting off the supply when the waste valve is removed for repairs. The waste valve and operating mechanism, on the other hand, are so constructed and arranged as to be independent of the main valve when the latter is removed.

In general principles and in some fea tures of construction, the present inven tion is similar to that set forth in my application filed June 4, 1907, Serial Number 377,140. In the said application the operating mechanism does not embody the particu' lar feature of construction which insures free detachment of the waste valve.

Of the accompanying drawings which illustrate one form in which the invention may be embodied: Figure 1 represents a vertical section of the lower portion of a hydrant casing, including the main valve, a waste valve, and valve operating mecha- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 28, 1911.

- Patented Feb. 10,1914.

Serial No. 605,210.

The lower section ofthe hydrant casing is indicated at 10, and the upper section is indicated at 11, the two sections being provided with flanges 10 and 11 respectively by which they are securely connected by means such as bolts 12. The lower portion of the section 10 is intended to be connected with a water main so that when water is admitted it will flow upwardly. The section 10 is provided with a main valve seat 13 and with a waste passage 14. The main valve is indicated at 15 and is attached to the lower end of a valve stem 16. A vertical fin 17 is formed upon the interior of the section 10, and the valve 15 is grooved to embrace the fin and is thereby held against rotation, The upper end of the valve stem is internally threaded to receive a screw 18. The screw is rotatably mounted in a spider 19 and is provided with collars 20 and 21 arranged respectively below and above the spider to prevent vertical movement. An extension 22 is engaged with the upper end of the screw and extends to the top of the hydrant section 11, where it may be engaged by a wrench.

The waste valve is indicated at 23 and is preferably provided with a facing of rubber, as indicated at 24. The waste valve is pivotally mounted in the lower end of a holder 25, the holder being formed with a vertical slot 26 in whichthe valve is arranged. The pivot of the waste valve is indicated at 27. An operating lever 28 is also arranged in the slot 26 and is suspended upon a pivot 29. The lower end of the operating lever is formed with a toe 30 for engaging the waste valve. The surface 31 of the waste valve is so formed as to be substantially concentric with relation to the pivot 29 when the valve is closed as shown valve 23 being arranged to cover or uncover the upper end of the port. The lower end of the holder is externally threaded, as indicated at 34, and is adapted to be screwed into a socket formed for its reception in the section 10. The waste passage 14 in the section 10 is formed to communicate with the port 33 in the holder 25. The upper end of the holder 25 is formed with angular faces adapted to be engaged by a wrench, and with a screwthread 25 for engagement with a tool for inserting the holder in the socket of the hydrant casing or for removingthe same.

The main valve 15 carries a plate 36 by which the lever .28 may be moved to epen. and close the waste valve, The plate 36 is formed with a slot 37 and is clamped against the main valve by a bolt 38 extend? ing through the slot and threaded in the main valve. One end of the plate extends beyond the rim of the valve and is formed with an opening 39 through which the holder 25 may extend. The slot 37 prorides for adjusting the plate relatively to the valve to position the plate so that it may slide freely up and down the holder 25. Parallel shoulders 36 on the main valve engage the opposite edges of the plate to pre vent turning about thebolt 38. The operating lever 28 is so formed as to present one portion or another to the plate 28. One edge of the lever is inclined as indicated at 40. The face 40 merges with a portion 41 which is substantially vertical when the waste valve is closed. The opposite edge of the lever is inclined as indicated at 42. When the plate 36 is raised to the position shown by Fig. 4 it engages the face 41 of the lever, thus holding the toe 3.0 to the right. The holder 25 is provided with a stop 43 for engaging the lever to limit its movement to the right, The stop prevents the toe 30 from passing out of engagement with the waste valve. When the plate 36 moves downward it first becomes disengaged from the face 41 and then engages the inclined face 42 on the opposite edge of the operating lever, the face 42 at this time extending beyond the holder 25, as shown by Fig. 4. When the face 42 is engaged by the plate 36, the operating lever is moved 7 to the left, and the toe 30 engages the finger 32 to swing the waste valve away from its seat. The lower end of the operating lever is cut away, as indicated at 44, to leave clearance for the waste valve to open sufiiciently. Movement of the operating lever to the left is limited by a stop 45 on the holder 25. When the operating lever is moved as far as the stop 45 will permit, its heel 46 is within the slot 26 so that the plate 36 may descend further if the main valve has not already been seated. In this way the waste valve is positively opened when the main valve is closed, and all water above the main valve may flow out from the hydrant casing. lVhen the main valve is opened, the first upward movement of the plate 36 disengages the plate from the heel 46. In this way the operating lever 28 becomes unlocked, the relatively abrupt an gle of the face 42 permitting the operating lever to swing to a considerable extent when the main valve has been opened but slightly.

,The waste valve may therefore close under for opening and for closing the valve. It

is further apparent that the operating mechanism is adapted to respond tothe water pressure to permit the waste valve to close before 'it is positively closed, and that the final movement of the operating mechanism 9 positively locks the valve against its seat. The face 41 by which the operating lever is held to lock the waste valve in closed position is adapted to permit a long range of movement of the plate 36 without changing the position of the operating lever, and'the face 46 at the heel of the lever is likewise formed to permit continued downward movement of the plate 36 after the waste valve has been moved to and locked in open position without changing the position of the operating lever.

It will be observed that the waste valve and the finger 32 are at all times within the perimeter of the holder 25. the holder is unscrewed from the casing and is removed while the main valve is seated, no obstruction is presented to the plate 36.

1 The holder 25, together with the waste valve and the operating lever, may therefore be detached independently of the main valve without disturbing the main valve, and such detachment dispenses with a gate in addition to the main valvefor cutting off the supply.

The spider 19 is so arranged that a suitable wrench and holdingtool for the holder 25 may be passed downwardly into the casing in the vertical radial plane of the socket If, therefore,

provided for the holder, the arms of the 1 spider leaving the said plane.

Having thus explained the nature of my said invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms a clear, unobstructed space in in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, what I claim is:

1. A street hydrant, comprising a casing having an internal main valve and seat, and a waste port communicating with the interior of the casing, a Waste valve, an actuator for opening and closing said waste valve, and means adjustably secured to said main valve for engaging and operating said actuator when the main valve is moved, to open and close the waste valve.

2. A street hydrant, comprising a casing having an internal main valve and seat, and a waste port communicating with the interior of the casing, a waste valve, an oscillatory actuator for opening and closing said waste valve, said actuator having cam faces, and means adjustably secured to said main valve for engaging said cam faces to operate the actuator when the main valve is moved.

3. A street hydrant comprising a casing having an internal main valve and seat, a

waste port communicating with the interior of the casing, a waste valve, a pivoted pendant actuator for opening and closing said waste valve, parallel ribs on the main valve, a plate seated on the main valve between the ribs and arranged to operate said actuator, said plate being adjustable radially of said main valve, and means for rigidly securing said plate after adjustment.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

CLAUDE L. HOVVES. Vitnesses:

W. P. ABELL, P. W. PEZZETTI.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Paton", Washington, D. C. 

